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“The real stoners in this excellent documentary are the administration
officials drunk with power and out of control,
and a nation of otherwise
good people who've been given the worst drug of all -- fear.”
– Michael
Moore
“Tells the...often ridiculous and generally enraging story of how and why Mr. Chong, an extremely laid-back and genial camera presence, ended up doing time in the minimum-security Taft Correctional Institution.”
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
“Hilarious! With a mixture of astonishment and outrage, (the film) casts the funnyman’s circumstances as the direct result of conservatives’ desire to pillory the vestiges of the ‘60s and ‘70s counterculture by demonizing marijuana and criminalizing its icons. A simultaneously ridiculous and terrifying portrait of federal prosecution run amok.”
– Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
“Not even Cheech and Chong in their most paranoid cheebah nightmare from ’78 could’ve imagined that a quarter-century later the feds would spend some $12 million on Operation Pipe Dreams, an anti-bong escapade that would culminate in the SWAT team-style apprehension and swift imprisonment of the comic stoner duo’s mellower half... A suitably fuzzy squint at America from ’69 to the buzzkill present.”
– Rob Nelson, Village Voice
“The facts of Chong’s imprisonment are enough to boil the blood. Gilbert takes the scenic route getting to the facts of the case,
first giving an enjoyable primer on Chong’s early career and improbable rise to stardom in the 1970s. “
– John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
“A touching portrait of a gentle soul who falls down the rabbit hole of anti-drug insanity.”
– Jim Slotek, Toronto Sun
“Strikes a good balance between indignant outrage and stoner bewilderment.”
– Chris Knight, National Post (Canada)
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“Do you have any narcotics in the house?” – DEA Agent
“Of course, I’m Tommy Chong.” – Tommy Chong
The United States Government versus Thomas B. Kin Chong, a/k/a Tommy Chong, the bandana-clad half of stoner comedy duo Cheech & Chong. In 2003 Chong was charged with selling bongs over the internet and sentenced to nine months in federal prison. As part of the government’s $12 million drug paraphernalia sting operation, “Operation Pipe Dreams,” Chong, a vocal opponent of Bush’s handling of the War on Terror, was singled out among 55 defendants to serve time. Filmmaker Josh Gilbert captures the post-prison, avuncular Chong as he turns his arrest-by-SWAT-team into hilarious stand-up material. But our laughs are seasoned by the recognition of our government’s questionable priorities and its shameless use of the judicial system to scapegoat a counterculture icon.
Produced & Directed by Josh Gilbert
USA, 2005 • 78 minutes • Filmsource |
